German neo-Nazis praise reelection of Iran's Ahmadinejad

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Neo-Nazis in Germany are applauding the repression of protests in Iran and publishing statements supporting the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his hard-line government.

Two extremist parties, the NPD and DVU, have managed to contort their racist thinking to embrace the Iranian leader because Ahmadinejad openly advocates the elimination of Israel – and presumably has no plans to move to Germany.

The NPD website defended Ahmadinejad against what it called a “media attack on the Iranian people's spirit,” referring to widespread doubts being expressed about the president's reelection and described him as the “true leader of his people,” according to public broadcaster ARD.

Censorship in Iran, which makes listening to music a risky business, and outlaws dancing in public, is praised by the NPD, which says the music could be considered decadent and subversive.

The contradiction between this opinion and the complaints the NPD makes when neo-Nazi music containing illegally racist lyrics are banned by the German government does not seem to have occurred to the party's members.

Germany's fascists first took to Ahmadinejad when he said he wanted to destroy Israel, and then in 2006 organised a conference for Holocaust deniers.

Meanwhile, the Islam Conference taking place this week in Berlin condemned the violence and abuse of human rights in Iran, with a statement signed by all associations taking part aside from the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

The council said it had a policy of not making statements about events in other countries, but called for both sides in Iran to come to an agreement and allow freedom of opinion.

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“Chain-of-light” demonstrations are planned in cities across Europe on Thursday night to show solidarity with the Iranian people and commemorate those who have been killed recently during demonstrations.

Organisers in Berlin have taken the title, “A light to show hope. Thousands of lights show themselves” for the demonstration which will take place for an hour from 9:30 pm in front of the Gedächtniskirche in the centre of the city. Similar demonstrations are set for Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Rome.